"Don't be frightened, Missy," said the farmer, for it was Mr. Maple himself. "Rags will not hurt you; but he saw you were a stranger, and he was wondering what you were doing here!"
Una smiled, reassured, and as Rags came up to her again, fixing his brown eyes on her face as though to ascertain if she was to be trusted or not, she extended her little white hand to him. The big dog sniffed at it for a moment in doubt, then he gave it a friendly lick, while Crack walked round him inquisitively.
"There now!" exclaimed the farmer laughing. "Rags has quite made up his mind to like you, and he'll know you when he sees you again. He's very fond of children; my little maids can do anything with him; and he's really very good-tempered, although he looks so fierce. Ah, dogs know those who understand them."
"Are Nellie and Bessie your little girls?" Una enquired. "Then you must be the farmer at Lowercoombe Farm?"
"Yes," he answered, "but how did you come to know that?"
"I was talking to your little girls just now," she explained. "They pass our house on their way to school. I live at Coombe Villa with my father and Nanny—she's my nurse. We have another servant named Polly, but she has not been with us long. Nanny has lived with us ever since I was born. What are you going to do with that dear little lamb?"
"Why, I am going to take it home to my wife to see if she can't rear it up by hand. The poor creature has lost its mother."
"Oh, dear, how sad!" cried Una. "Do you think it will live?"
"I hope so. We shall do our best for it, anyway. You must pay us a visit, little Missy, one of these days, to see for yourself how the lamb is doing. Will you?"
"Oh, yes, if father will let me, and I know he will! How kind of you to ask me!"